Nothing to see here, move along! Police deny growing crisis
POLICE Scotland chiefs yesterday played down the disarray engulfing the force, insisting there is no crisis.
The past week has seen several senior officers suspended and the release of figures showing a sharp rise in crime – while Chief Constable Phil Gormley remains on special leave amid investigations into claims of bullying.
However, in an attempt to shore up public confidence, Mr Gormley’s designated deputy, Iain Livingstone, yesterday appointed two temporary assistant chief constables, one of whom will be in charge of professional standards in the force.
Meanwhile, top brass also told a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) watchdog that a 15 per cent rise in robbery was an ‘improvement’.
Last night, it emerged that Justice Secretary Michael Matheson will today make a statement to Holyrood.
Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘He (Mr Matheson) can’t duck the questions forever; he must face the Scottish parliament and explain exactly how he is going to fix the chaos that has engulfed Police Scotland. He must finally take responsibility and admit he doesn’t know what’s going on or how to fix it.’
Labour justice spokesman Claire Baker said the Justice Secretary cannot keep ‘claiming every crisis is an “operational matter”.’
Mr Livingstone revealed the new appointments at an SPA board meeting in Stirling. He said: ‘It’s stating the obvious but it needs to be said: it’s clearly a very challenging time for policing in Scotland.
‘I also want to reassure the people of Scotland that I remain in charge of day-to-day policing, strongly supported by my colleagues in the force executive. I have absolute confidence in the leadership provided by the officers and staff that serve in Police Scotland.’
Both of the new appointees are currently chief superintendents. Gillian MacDonald will be in charge of major and local crime plus public protection, while Alan Speirs will be handed a new portfolio covering professional standards, anti-corruption and data assurance.
The SPA meeting also heard claims that rising crime levels actually tell a positive story.
Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick said half of the increase of 4 per cent was down to a small change in the law which now classifies crimes involving knives as two separate offences. She added: ‘Violent crime is up very slightly by less than 1 per cent and as part of that robbery continues to be up by a significant amount. It’s up 14.7 per cent but that’s actually an improving picture on the figures in the last quarter and reflects a significant amount of work of robbery action plans at local and national levels.’
Miss Fitzpatrick said a second consecutive year of high levels of serious assault was caused by a confusion over what the offence means, adding: ‘The difference between a common and serious assault can simply be the application of a couple of stitches or a broken tooth. We remain in dialogue with Scottish Government and the Crown about having definitions which would meet the common understanding of these things.’
And commenting on a 7 per cent rise in sexual crime, she insisted: ‘As we always do, we take that as evidence of increasing confidence among victims reporting to us.’
Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins was suspended on Friday over criminal allegations, which he denies. Superintendent Kirk Kinnell and Chief Inspector Bob Glass were also suspended.
David Hamilton of the Scottish Police Federation said: ‘I hope the public are reassured by Mr Livingstone’s words. The suspension of senior officers is high profile but on the ground life goes on.’
Last night, Mr Matheson said the force has ‘the unwavering support of this government’.
‘Must finally take responsibility’